Crude oil slips under $88

NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices dipped under $88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday despite a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude oil inventories.

Traders expected a draw of less than 1 million barrels, but the Energy Information Administration reported a stockpile decline of 2.4 million barrels to 371.8 million barrels in the week.

Economic data released Wednesday showed U.S. factory orders up slightly in November and a gain of 118,000 private sector jobs gained in the month.

In New York, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil eased back, dropping 78 cents to $87.82 per barrel. Home heating oil added 0.23 cents in late trading to reach $2.993 a gallon, while reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 0.22 cents to $2.64 a gallon. Henry Hub natural gas gained 0.3 cents to $3.703 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, AAA reported a national average price for regular unleaded gasoline at $3.38 per gallon, down a tenth of a cent from Tuesday's $3.381.